Secret Blitz Weapons: Alekhine Defense MoveTrainer® Opening course by GM Oleksandr Bortnyk

Bortnyk’s Big Secret

If you’ve ever watched top level blitz, you should be very familiar with Ukrainian GM Olexandr Bortnyk. He’s a legend of online blitz and bullet, winning games against the very best players in the world. He’s no slouch in over the board blitz either, peaking at nearly 2800, a level very few players have achieved!

The Alekhine Defense is one of his weapons of choice, a slightly unorthodox opening but one that will certainly give you chances to play for a win. Avoiding heavy theory and getting a playable position is a huge benefit in fast chess.

Letting our knight be kicked away immediately may look counterproductive but it’s all part of the plan. We’ll take the game into uncharted territory, lure White into overextending and then strike back.

The Four Pawns Attack is White’s most principled option but it illustrates the point of the opening well – all of these pawns leave a lot of empty space and weaknesses behind them!

White doesn’t have as many setups available as in other openings, so this compact repertoire is easy to learn and the perfect surprise weapon.

There are only four serious systems to learn:

The Four Pawns Attack – White will grab maximum space but you’ll be well prepared to strike back!

The Mainline with 4. Nf3 – Over 3 chapters, GM Bortnyk covers White’s safest & most solid option, when our opponent doesn’t get overextended – however, the position remains tense and Bortnyk will show you all of the traps.

The Normal Variation with 3. Nc3 – the name doesn’t inspire fear and this line shouldn’t either. You’ll have an opportunity to transpose to an ultra-solid Petroff – or to play more adventurously, depending on your mood.

The Exchange Variation with 5. exd6 – certainly less dull than the “exchange variations” in other openings, you’ll get a chance to unbalance the position and keep the game interesting.

As you’d expect from a certified blitz master, the course is packed full of complex positions where nobody is supposed to know what is going on… except you will.

Bortnyk offers his own twist on the Alekhine and shows different setups from others currently on Chessable. His strategy is to give you the ultimate weapon for blitz chess, so he focuses on positions that will take your opponent out of their comfort zone. He doesn’t shy away from complications but this course doesn’t need the commitment of learning a Lifetime Repertoire – it’s the perfect size to learn as a secondary opening.

The Alekhine is an under-rated and under-studied opening and it’s the perfect secret weapon. However, this repertoire goes even further than that, giving you a serious opening that could easily be your main choice, even in classical!